And as the one comment to Skyvington’s piece declares, “If you don’t find a way to laugh, you’ll just cry all day long.” Yes indeed. And your blood pressure will rise, and then you’ll have to rely on public healthcare that the Ontario Liberals just keep decimating.

You don’t want to go there.

Along that note the brilliant Justin Jimmo has put up a YouTube video Top 10 – Ontario Liberal Scams & Scandals:

This is a lot of fun!
A lot more fun than seeing our Premier and your Premier schmoozing over a coffee yesterday acting, with the assistance of the media, like they are God’s gift and all is right in their Provinces.
My mute button behaved brilliantly.

Any ideas how long it would take someone to write out 12,222 cheques, each totally $90,000, which would be the amount needed to equal the $1.1 billion fleeced from Ont taxpayers?

Someone should undertake such a thing, designed to expose the media’s
double standard, going to Queen’s Park with a table, a chair, boxes of fake checks, and a giant counter that would go up in increments of $90,000 each time a cheque is written, torn from the cheque book and placed in a giant box beside the table.

Anyone willing to take the bullet and risk serious carpal tunnel, staying up for, what I would expect to be at least 24 hours?

The Media Party are usually interested in such marathons that are designed to raise awareness of a particular issue. This one, however, is one I suspect that would get no attention whatsoever.

Better still, do it on the lawns of Parliament Hill, this would allow Tory MPs and senators in scrums with the media who are obsessed with the number 90,000, to smile and ask reporters if they’ve seen that guy outside whose writing all those cheques, asking if they’ve given him any news coverage and the awareness he’s trying to raise.

Justin Trudeau pulls up on the Hill in his car, rolls down his window and smiles at the marathon cheque-writer, comfortable in the knowledge that the Media Party has not been covering the story. Justin smiles and says, “Nothin’s workin’ for ya, is it?”. Justin says he would like to help the cheque-writer reach his goal but that he can’t because he’s got Paul Wells of Macleans in the car seated next to him.

really good stuff Justin!
You know what we need in Ontario?
Remember that Libranos poster that Ezra did for the federal Liberal crooks during Adscam?
I can see another really great poster being pulled together with Wynne, McGuinty, Deb Matthews, Liz Sandals (with Andrea peeking over their shoulders in the background)….all looming large and scaring the crap out of voters and head of the next election.
It might even be a great fundraiser

My bad! Of course you did that fine post (who could be more regular on BLY than you) LOL.

Yes, it is a pity there are so few shows devoted solely to Ontario politics…or newspapers adequately reporting….or blogs for the most part (here is an exception). It burns me when the person on the street says they don’t know what a particular leader looks like. Programs such as Focus Ontario help rectify that, but they need an audience.

Incidentally, John Tory (yes that John Tory) has a weekly radio news summary on http://www.cfra.com Sundays 11:00 am-noon eastern. Am assuming that he will replay his interview with PM Harper on that other topic.

I happened to run into my MPP this morning who admitted that Thursday’s vote did not look good on the PC party. Although the motion would have no weight, just 2 more members present could have made a symbolic difference. They were not certain what the NDP would do, they supported it. Still if PCs put forward such motions, I think they should make sure as many members as possible are present to vote. Symbolic motions like this are important in my view.

You’ll recall that I attempted to sign on to the PC Ont. updates and info. delivered to email? Have been trying to do so for months as you also may recall and posting about it here.

A rec’d notification yesterday that apparently PC Ont. has had issues with their database…..and it was more than just my info. that was involved. I had confirmation from a friend that she too rec’d the same email notification yesterday.

I feel a bit vindicated that I raised that issue here because I think that it may have pushed those from PC HQ to look closer at what was or was not working at its website.

As a volunteer myself who was trained on CIMS (federally) I know how important it was for things to be working especially in light of the fact that Tim Hudak has called for an election for months now. How prepared would we have been with missing database info.?

Good article. He used kady O’Malley’s time line,
which omitted the May 14 email to CTV saying he paid with a loan from the Royal Bank, and that Nigel Wright took no part in it.
Curious how kady could miss such an important email, eh.

Andrea thinks she’s solving problems by keeping the Liberals in power? Sounds like a typical socialist thought process bereft of rational thought.
Someone needs to remind her she’s taking a big share of responsibility for the mess this province is in as long as she keeps doing nothing but but spouting off. Kinda like fiddling while Ontario burns out.

She wants the situation to continue as is because she is enjoying the maximum influence she is ever about to get. NDP have no hope of forming a government, their fate is apt to resemble the NS party next time around. For purely selfish personal reasons she will prop up the Liberals as long as possible.

If the general public believed it was only Conservative Senators doing this, it would be doing great harm. Canadians aren’t stupid. Most suspect all the Senators of some sort public fund abuse.
No government is problem free.
PMSH coming down hard on his own is a good start to reforming the Senate.

I agree Richco, the tantrum tempest regarding 3 Conservative Senators being told to repay taxpayers money just does not have legs.
Anyone with an IQ above room temperture and not wearing Liberal specs with red lenses cannot but see, especially after Mandsbridge’s overblown, can I say silly rehetoric.
CBC as it stands is so biased, I loved Mr Wolfe’s description of Peter Mandsbridge as “wetting himself”.
MM are so eager, apparently paying back taxpayers money is somehow a scandal?
Could it have been handled better?
You bet, was telling 3 of ours to pay back less that Mac Harb did the touch of election death as is so gleefully being reported?
They wish, if wishes were votes, Liberals would not be in third place.
I don’t think so either.
For sure any body being vetted for the Senate will have no doubt as to what is kosher.
As for the NDP-Q in Ontario, Jacks Legacy writ large my friends.
He threw the whole Country under the Seperatists bus for a promise of two cabinet seats.
Enough already, this stink is on MM not us.

Looks like Cons Senate (majority) is looking at 3 separate motions to suspend the Senators.
What imo was wrong with this blanket motion was using ‘until the end of session’ as the time limit. Should be a precise amount of time for each Senator, not ending with an event.
Rosemary Barton says change in motion not over concern about their fellow Senators, it is about the AG report coming looking over their books. Wow, some truth!
Senators are prescribing their own future medicine.

‘…Carignan said he believed Brazeau did not interpret financial administration documents properly, and that in his case there was an “element of good faith.”

Carignan said Wallin “made an impassioned plea, a good plea” against the sanctions, but added that Duffy “chose to settle political scores rather than answer to the accusations.” cbc

Re: the initial Senate motion to suspend senators:
I think it was heavy-handed. It provided even more fuel to an already complicated issue. It would have been far more advisable for the PM & the government leader in the Senate to wait it out, until whatever RCMP investigations currently under way were completed.

Why? Because the motion has given the media, once again, the chance to pretend they are the champions of fair play (due process), integrity (padded expense claims, who knew what when), and looking out for Joe & Jane Q Public (it’s your money but the political class think they’re entitled to their entitlements).

However, what they fail to mention is that they — the media — have been gleefully rubbing their hands together at the volumes of insinuation, innuendo, rumour, whisper campaigns, gossip, backbiting, second & third hand accounts, that they could incorporate all that muck, fertilizing their screeds, broadcasts, and gab fests.

Case in point: Robert Fife and Craig Oliver both fulminated during today’s QP about what punishment should have been meted out to all the people in the PMO who supposedly knew & perhaps even participated in devising Nigel Wright’s cheque-writing rescue plan for Mike Duffy. They should all have been fired, according to those two paragons of consistency. Yet during the same broadcast, they expressed concern bordering on outrage about suspending the three senators without pay. Double standard writ large, IMO.

P.S. Tonda MacCharles at the beginning of the program sounded like a shrieking banshee.

Perhaps they are angry because they sense this is not going to stick to PMSH, instead he will get credit (from those who aren’t Harper haters) for coming down hard on his own. These suspensions are the beginning of Senate reform.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the PM will “get credit” from those who are not already on his side, i.e. from the so-called “mushy middle”, those who can go one way or the other depending on how the media portrays issues.

The media will make sure the general public remembers how the PM resisted doing anything about Bev Oda’s apparently extravagant taste in hotels, limos, and orange juice. So why, they might ask, is he ready to suspend these senators without pay but was OK with Bev Oda simply repaying whatever expenses were deemed a little too extravagant? Ms. Oda wasn’t even asked to quit the caucus, unless I’m mistaken, she decided not to run again of her own volition. Not that I think she should have been made to resign or anything. I’m just speculating on the comparisons that may be made — of course, all intended to chip away at the PM’s reputation.

It’s downright sickening and maddening at the same time to watch the likes of Fife, Oliver et al.

The media hacks, always out for Conservative blood, have been given the chance to sit in judgement and wring every last drop of blood out of something that was almost entirely preventable had it been handled properly.

In QP PM Harper said he had nothing to do with the decision to suspend the 3 Senators, but he supported the decision. Therefore: How can it be said(By the media) it was PM Harper who initiated this? Lots of missing facts when they do their reporting saying it would rob them of their livelihood??It’s for 2 years.
Bob Fife, the lounge lizard ,was so vicious today on QP…all that was missing was calling PM Harper a knuckle dragging red neck. I noticed he cut off the Conservative but not the opposition.
Meanwhile, Marc Hab..1/4 of a MILLION and he gets a comfy PENSION and Ray Leveign is sitting in prison. crickets…like it never happened to a LIBERAL senator.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
Lao Tzu

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.
Nelson Mandela

Right fh,
the Senate had their own form of due process (because they can),
all members on the committees knew the rules were flawed for decades, they knew the stories,
and yet they still judged the 4 Senators to have broken the rules and called in the RCMP.
Now they want to apply the brakes and blame PM Harper.

“This has been going on for almost a year,” she said. “There were committees and subcommittees, the particular files were referred to outside auditors, they were returned to more committee meetings, debated in the Senate. So I think the rush to judgement argument doesn’t hold water.” CTV news

Yes, it took our PM by surprise, and too, Wright’s explanation must have sounded reasonable/legal for him not to let him go right away.
Accepting his resignation after reflection,
is a face saving way of telling Wright his actions were grounds for dismissal.

‘There was a day’ when payback was all that was required, in both Houses.
That needed to change, and the hammer came down on 3 Conservative Senators….
the Liberals and media saw to it.
Mac Harb lawyered up and quit to secure his pension.

We forget that this whole event happened once the Cons Senate changed the rules and posted expenses.
Media targeted Duffy and Wallin, then the Senate reacted, their files were sent for further review after being considered ‘case closed’.
Harper demanded Senators payback taxpayers, no ifs ands or buts.
Liberals jumped in calling for an RCMP investigation to further embarrass PMSH.
The sanction/audit train has left the station,
let the chips and Senators fall where they may.
Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to get the Supreme’s ok to fire them all.

‘why he would give this money to Duffy’
fh, I’m thinking that Wright did interpret the residence rules to Duffy’s favor, and advised him accordingly.
So when all h broke loose, he felt somewhat responsible, and Duffy’s crying about being sick and poor tipped the scale into helping him out ( when the party refused to)

With the maggots forget the big picture, the important facts, in favour of nit picking the irrelevant details when dealing with any issue concerning the Harper Conservatives.

Maybe they all should chill and wait to get a full report on all Senators before suspending any of them. There could be a few more empty seats in Upper Chamber Pot then who will do all that supposed important work? We also have to remember the newbies need special consideration, they may have been still wearing training pants.

As Rosemary Barton said, this jumping on the brakes by some in the Senate is not about compassion for fellow Senators,
it’s about them being worried about their own paycheques with the coming AG report.
Now is a good time to set a precedent ‘minimum suspension sanction’ for breaking the Senate rules, all and any rules (Brazeau should get the minimum).
3 month minimum is a good start, imo.

In this astonishing column, Post Media writer Michael Den Tandt show why he is in the words of BC Blue, the chief “Media Party member who pimps Justin Trudeau”
He claims Trudeau to be the “champion of MP accountability” yet he is the one caught charging charities and school boards excessive appearance fees.
Logic would suggest that if PM Harper is responsible for the actions of all conservative Senators, then as Liberal leader the same applies to Jr. This includes Mac Harb under investigation for fraud, and although he has conveniently resigned, not before Jr. stated he would be welcome back in the Liberal caucus. Further audits of Senators are certain to expose more Liberal excesses.
Historically there is the matter of Raymond Lavigne serving his sentence for breach of trust and further back, Andrew Thompson the first, and I believe only Senator to be suspended by his peers.

This piece could well have been written by a Trudeau fan club president. Statements that Jr can “count on baby boomers who voted for his father” are juxtaposed with references to Jimmy Stewart and the outsider who takes on the establishment.
These two images are totally incompatible; Jr would still be teaching high school were is last name Sinclair rather than Trudeau.
Not a great example of objective writing, but that is the norm these days for Ottawa media.

Laurel and Hardy “well look at he mess you’ve got me into”
Sittin’ in the bushes here and reading the comments, some very good ones BTW.
This is the tip of the iceberg, has gone on for years and years.
The Senate can do what ever they want, some of the other Senators laundry is not going to be as clean as they would like.
Whatever the right and wrong is here everybody will have to show and tell.
Methinks some of the fine Liberal Senators are getting nervous.
Junior Trudeau has a travel allowance nearly as big as my MP who lives 4000+ clicks from Ottawa with a riding 100 times the size of Junior.
Papineau is some 80 clicks from Parliment Hill.
There is I am thinking enough dirt to go around in Ottawa.
Funny that the CONVICTED LIBERALS arte invisible to MM as well as Max Harb jumping before he is pushed.
Just another MM circus, they dont care about Canada or ordinary Canadians just a bunch of fart catchers for the Trudeau sprog .

Weston already reported allegations of the CPC fund was used in the payback.
Duffy says he was scripted the Royal Bank answer. Remember, that email was not fully disclosed by CTV ( contained … fill in the blanks) and we always questioned what it said in it’s entirety.

Sounds like Duffy ‘believes’ the party paid his $13k legal fees.
Duffy finally tabled the emails. We will see if it is as Duffy claims.
So why did an honorable Senator go along with what he alleges? Why would Duffy’s lawyer go along with it if there was even a hint of illegality?
Duffy never implicated PM Harper.

I am very upset after watching Senator Don Plett on Sun News. It appears to me that Senator Don Plett is more interested in preserving his unelected unaccountable seat in the Senate than punishing Senators who do not respect tax payer dollars.

It went thru committees and sub-committees, independent auditors, reports, report reviews, and the conclusion by the Senators was the rules were broken.
Then Liberals thought the rules were broken in such away as to call in the RCMP to investigate criminal intent.
How could they all have been so wrong…..as they pedal backwards.

Maybe as PM heard more of the story that’s how a resignation turned to dismissal…?
Duffy wanted legal assurance that paying the expenses would not be an admission of guilt, and his legal fees were cover by cheque from Hamilton. Did where the funds came from matter at this point?
Frankly Scarlet…..

The latest development, being that PMSH “dismissed” Wright as opposed to the fmr. chief-of-staff having resigned, actually helps PMSH in his claim that he didn’t know about the $90,000. If Wright was fired, as it’s now being reported, PMSH can say, “Yeah, I did fire him, but in order to allow him to go out with some dignity, it was agreed that we could say he resigned of his own accord.”

It’s illogical to suggest that the PM knew of the payment in advance, authorized it, and then turned around and fired a guy for doing precisely what the PM told him to do or had knowledge of it. So as far as I’m concerned, if it turns out that Wright was fired, this actually helps the PMSH claim that he didn’t know, although it won’t be spun that way by the Media Party.

If all of this transpired the way Mike Duffy says it did why did his lawyer go along with the so-called ‘scheme’? And why did Duffy scurry away immediately after and not one reporter pursued him or waylaid him as he left the building? It all sounds very fishy.

Duffy tabled/made public ‘evidence’, so how does that not jeopardize a potential court case and the Senate sanctioning breaking the rules would?
This story is getting nutty.
Omg, Brazeau just accused LeBreton of ‘she does not like Aboriginals’.

Didn’t Duffy change from ‘victim’ to ‘accomplice’ when he cashed that $13k cheque?
How can you keep pleading wanting no part of a scheme (reimbursing taxpayers) , and then hire a lawyer to make it happen?

Good point Wilson.
I am still in disbelief that Senator Don Plett continues to defend his friend Mike Duffy and maintains he supports Stephen Harper.
It appears to me that Senator Don Plett is entitled to his entitlements!

David Akin from Sun News is a LIBERAL and should be reporting for CBC….just read between the lines on how he speaks…he is a Harper hating Liberal and he doesn’t fool me. He loathes anything Conservative. I have to turn him off but then where to go..CBC…no…CTV…no…Global….no
Anyone know when Ezra will challenge the media about the Senate crap?? waiting, waiting, waiting…..

I am wondering the same thing Ontario Girl?? I would also like to point out that David Akin did a very friendly interview with Brandon Souris liberal candidate. Still waiting for a friendly interview with Conservative candidate…?
A lot of the Sun News coverage lately is the very same as CBC CTV. Why am I paying extra for a different point of view if I am not getting it?

I couldn’t disagree with you more on Aiken. He’s actually a guy who at times is tough to pin down. One time, he joins with the other reporters and shouts down Harper as he did a few months back I believe, accusing the PM of ducking reporters’ questions; other times he’ll do a scoop on Justin, slamming the Lib leader, while the Media Party ignore those stories. I think when we say we don’t like this person, or that person, and infer that they should go work elsewhere makes us no different than the Media Party. Aiken is a good fit for SNN, and is a pretty effective host of Battleground as well, IMO.

I’m actually a little disappointed with SNN and their coverage (or lack thereof) of the so-called senate scandal. They seem to be ignoring it for the most part, leading off with stories about the anti-fracking stories instead, which they could argue was a top story at one time but no longer can. It’s a story; they should deal with it. Don’t behave like the Media Party on stories like Fontana’s trial on fraud charges. We’re better than them.

Just as an aside, I’m really concerned about SNN’s future more than ever. Sunday morning, I tuned in to get their news (usually hosted by Dunston), only to discover they were running repeat programming, in spite of the Rogers info bar on the bottom of the screen reading “Sun News Live”. Apparently they have stopped ALL live programming on weekends. I’d be surprised if they make it to next summer.

I had no idea that the senator by then considered the fed gov underPaul Martin lacked Accountability and Transparency.
The more I read, the more I read what we never heard about. Even the dealings with the fringe party ndp. was mentioned.

I have personally tried to envision ME being in that red chamber, me, being me, a CONSERVATIVE and this whole thing with him truly disgusts me.

Regardless of where the chips end up falling, our PM is a class act. Does he appoint class acts, does he appoint believable people, was this his intention all along, a gong show senate? His sense of humour tells me ….it’s possible…

An unelected Senate is a gong show but it did not start with these 3. MAYBE, just maybe that is the point we should be talking about?

DO NOT distrust this PM. DO NOT be embarrassed by these weasels blaming their stupidity and greed on this PM.
He has been the best PM ever and NO ONE is willing to tell THAT STORY!

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”
My old dad asked me once if I had a perfect memory, of course I said I did not.
Then never tell a lie, that way you never have to remember anything, just the truth.

What happened in the Senate should have stayed in the Senate for them to deal with. When a PM appoints a person to that place he is not responsible either for their misdeeds or their punishment.
The PMO appears to have made some frantic moves and bad decisions and one needs to ask why and what they were afraid of?
Instead of this involving only these Senators they’ve managed to drag the PM and the party into the fray they should have never been in IMO. It’s becoming a sideshow for the maggots, they can talk of nothing else, it’s as if this is of great importance to the country and the lives of the citizens.

I’m ashamed of the lot of them, they brought it all on by being stupid. The PMO needs a cleaning out.
Now there appears to be a divide in the party on the whole mess.

“When a PM appoints a person to that place he is not responsible either for their misdeeds or their punishment”.
That is it exactly, the Liberals have understood this working arrangement for decades. They never feel the need to apologize for Lavigne or Thompson, but they are aided in this by the media. Media stories scarcely mention Lavigne was a Liberal MP and Senator, let alone hold Chretien to account for appointing him.
Similarly Mac Harb was a Liberal MP before being appointed by Chretien. None of the conservative Senators under attack even ran for parliament as CPC candidates.

I think the CPC said, yes they paid the legal costs??? Maybe a note to Solomon??
Picking up the legal tab is pretty common, it was the ‘Royal Bank script’ that grabbed me.
But someone sent Solomon a brown envelope today, with an email from the PMO that makes Duffy’s story unbelievable.

The Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CTV News found that 73 per cent of respondents believe Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau should be “immediately suspended from the Senate without pay.”

The cheque for $13,560.00 was made out to Duffy’s lawyer on April 3, 2013 and was sent via overnight courier to Payne’s office. An image of the cheque can be seen at http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2013/10/20131028-160608.html. I find it impossible to conceive of so many people being overtly involved in a supposedly covert scheme. I would have expected brown paper bags stuffed with cash and not a paper trail a mile wide. I’m not buying what Duffy’s selling.

Yes, the Conservatives leave cheque stubs and emails everywhere in their attempt to cover up giving taxpayers back $90k, and cover off $13k in legal fees to boot!!!

Perhaps they had more practice, but the Liberals were really good at pulling off a cover up.
First: Use taxpayers fund to pay your business buddies for doing nothing,
then: your buddies give it back to you in cash,
so: you stuff the cash into envelopes (use $100 bills so it’s not so bulky)
and then: slip the envelopes stuffed with cash to your bestest buddies, including 12 of your candidates, to give them a wee advantage in the upcoming election.
What 12 Liberal candidates got the laundered cash you ask…?
We don’t know, the Liberals are just that good at a cover up.
And when the Liberal PM was asked, he went into some song and dance about golf balls.

“The policy shift that the federal government announced in its budget this year is going to radically overhaul Canada’s response to homelessness,” Tim Richter, head of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, said Monday.

“It changes our efforts from simply a response to an emergency situation to one that focuses on permanent housing for chronically homeless people.

What still remains mighty strange is the fact this all started with three Conservative appointed Senators. How come they were targeted/ singled out? How come some time later we hear a bit about Liberal “Mac” Harb who allegedly had been dipping in for much more than the three Conservative Senators put together?
IMO if audits are regularly done in the Senate why wasn’t Harb caught before this particular time? Who in that freaking place approves /writes the cheques?

IMO, if the PMO had stayed away from it we would not have the animosity displayed by Duffy, Wallin or Brazeau towards the party and the PM by said people. The PM and PMO should have said they do not approve of what they did and would wait for an audit and the Senate would take care of it. Instead they added fuel to the fire and the media are stoking it. Why was Duffy the one chosen for bail out? Did he whine and get sympathy or was it all about party politics?

Check out National Newswatch today…EVERY single story is slamming the Govt. about the Duffy “BOMBSHELL”…except two stories about robo calls and Conservatives. Not one small clip about Liberal Joe Fontana in court for fraud charges. zero.nada. nothing. crickets.
Evan Soloman even had the gall to say the two cheques were in “Brown Envelopes”….lol The difference is, the Liberal “Brown Envelopes” were stuffed with CASH for Liberals pockets. CBC reporting is looking more foolish every day…talk about overkill, insinuations and trying to drag the PM into every word spoken. The PMO, the PMO , the PMO…..Talk about our taxpayer funded CBC turned national Enquirer. I did laugh. My…all this because the Conservatives got a majority and the lefties are salivating to try to make the Conservatives out to be the CROOKS the Liberal party are famous for. Just a cover up for the Ontario Liberals, who should be the real people under the microscope. CBC radio has the Duffy story on 24/7…over and over and over.Pffffft

I’m guessing Duffy has forgiven his former media hacks for all their nasty reporting against him and enjoys being their useful tool in their long quest to wrest power from the Conservatives so they can get the real brown envelope champions back in.

When this Senate mess is drummed out so paper thin it will blow away like the pocketed wafer at a funeral tale cum “scandal”, will the sickening maggots we regularly have in our faces on TV report on problems facing Liberals/former Liberals like Joe Fontana? Or how about McGuinty’s former Deputy minister of education charged with child porn among other charges? Betting most don’t even know his name or have forgotten it by now.

The media and opposition are just doing a better job of keeping this on the front burner than the PM, PMO and caucus is doing of getting out in front and countering. There are more Liberal and left-leaning of media and opposition currently so the numbers favour the spinners of both media and opposition.

That’s always been our concern here on issues like this before.

Whether or not it’s typical for CPC donations to be used to pay court costs, I still don’t like it. That to me is also not respecting donors or party members…of which I am both currently.

It looks like there is an invoice number on that cheque. It would be nice to know exactly what Legal work that cheque was for?
Anyway I predict that CTV will turn on Mike Duffy after and only after he throws his friends and the Conservative party over board. The media is manipulating the message…same old, same old!

The federal and Ontario Libs spent (wasted) taxpayer money amounting to millions with no paper trail. The feds used brown paper envelopes passed under the table in a restaurant and the Ontario bunch systematically deleted emails. The CPC repaid taxpayer money (Wright from his personal funds and Hamilton from party donor coffers) and left a paper trail a mile wide with no attempt to cover. And both are considered scandals? I don’t get it.

Liz — I sent a reply Tweet to Paul Wells asking him why he wasn’t complaining about Fontana or the Ontario Liberals and he wrote a sarcastic tweet back saying they didn’t represent the Gov’t of Canada. So, I assume the provincial governments and Mayors can do whatever they like. Pitiful.

Richco, All political parties use donation money as they see fit. When you donate, you are allowing them that right. They pay for rent for election offices. Utilities. Expenses for candidates and so on.

As well, some payments are made to MPPs and MPs for extra-ordinary expenses for example — those which are not covered under their government budgets.

Some even use the money to help with their clothing budget. I mean, Cabinet Ministers need maybe a dozen suits and accessories. The party helps them with those expenses, since most men only have one or two suits when they are not politicians.

Then, there is travelling to speak at party functions. Mileage, hotel, etc.

All parties do the same. Political ads are only a small part of what parties need to win elections and between elections.

Whatever they use our donations for, we get a hefty deduction on our income tax.

Sandy wrote “Richco, All political parties use donation money as they see fit. When you donate, you are allowing them that right. They pay for rent for election offices. Utilities. Expenses for candidates and so on.”

I know all that.

What I can’t do in good faith is support the PM and paying for Duffy or any other Senator or MPP’s legal costs at the same time.

That’s just not going to happen from this donor. Not now and not ever. As a fiscal and ethical conservative it just doesn’t hold water in this case.

“Whatever they use our donations for, we get a hefty deduction on our income tax.”

Really? Nice angel but as I wrote previously this issue pushes the envelope beyond what is usual or normal in the course of a trail of what my donation does for me. I care not about a deduction on my income tax if my donation has been used to prop up or bail out ANY Conservative Senators or MPs who think they’re entitled to it, rightly or wrongly.

I have first hand experience with a Premier’s office, which is not likely that different from a Prime Minister’s Office. There is nothing unusual about spin coming from the top. All parties do it. And, yes, even some scripts. I can recall such a situation with the Harris government and the hoola hoop scandal or the tuna scandal. Petty media politics, especially for conservatives, is not new.

Then, there was Bill 160 and the hysteria. My boss was asked to answer five questions for the St. Catharines Standard, along side another Liberal MPP who answered the same five questions. I wrote the piece as that was my job even though the byline was my bosses name. However, before I could submit anything, the Premier’s Chief of Staff had to approve it. He phoned me at home and told me to change something. I defended what I had written and he reluctantly agreed. Then, my boss read the piece over and over until he knew it by heart. Then, we forwarded it to the newspaper. T’is just the way things are done. MPs, MPPs, MLA’s, PMs, don’t do their own work. That the PM was in the dark is not unusual.

So, hang in there everyone. PMO and Premier’s office interference is the norm, no matter which political party is running things.

Plus, Harper is far from done, although the opposition and media party would love to see us turn against him.

Imagine quibbling over whether the PM dismissed Wright or he resigned. They are one and the same with the term resigned used simply to allow Wright to save face.

I would believe what you’re suggesting Sandy, IF I knew that Harper wasn’t a detail man and one who is a stickler for minute details AND likes to be in the loop of everything.

That’s how he was at the NCC and that’s how I remember him. Nothing used to get by him, and that goes even for his time as PM. He’s known for that.

I remember posting here many months ago that I felt that the PM wasn’t on his game, missing things and just didn’t seem to be into his job. Remember that? I still say that something else is going on in his life that we’re not privy to, nor should be BUT, the Stephen Harper I know would never have let this slip past him in his own office.

If he did, then I hope it turns out that it was elaborately contrived by his staff at the PMO and others. That’s entirely possible I guess…….I’m just not convinced. It’s got nothing to do with falling for media or opposition hype either. I know better.

Respectfully … there’s a big difference between running an activist org. and running a country, so regardless of how detail-oriented the man was and still may be, he cannot be expected to know every single detail about what happens everywhere, who did what when with whom about what, etc.

Perhaps we his supporters, in our effort to be supportive, have helped to perpetuate the myth that the man borders on superhuman. But I imagine the burden of occupying the PMO necessitates leaving some details to others to handle.

It wasn’t just his time at NCC that his attention to detail and knowledge about what was going on around him. He seemed to demonstrate those qualities throughout his term as PM too. That was why we admired him so much and still do for the most part.

Not sure this is unrealistic of a man who relished being seen in that light himself, but you could be right, perhaps he couldn’t be aware of what was going on in the PMO 24/7, or perhaps he trusted wrongly.

One thing for certain, it would be very hard for our PM to know who to trust moving forward after all of this.

I don’t envy him his position but the other thing that I do know about him is that if he’s been wronged he’ll do everything he needs to to prove that. My hope is that he’s biding his time to do exactly that in the most impactfull way possible.

I’m linking to 3 separate articles, which explains the separate posts, so as not to get caught in filterhttp://globalnews.ca/news/493153/sen-duffy-admits-he-hasnt-paid-money-back/April 18, 2013 5:59 pm
“Sen. Duffy admits he hasn’t paid money back
Conservative Senator Mike Duffy has not paid back the tens of thousands of dollars in housing expenses he said he’d return almost two months ago.
And now, he says he isn’t sure he’s “required” to.
A day after dodging questions from Global News, Duffy said he is waiting for an audit to come out before repaying the money. …
… In February, Duffy said he would pay back several years’ worth of housing allowances he admits he may have mistakenly collected, blaming “confusing” forms. …”
BUT …

I’m beginning to wonder if Duffy is confused due to lack of sleep over this convoluted tale, or maybe more aptly, tale of woe. He used to be called the Duffinator, he also called himself “The Old Duff” maybe he’s going to end up the Self Terminator with the web he’s spinning around himself.

Confusion abounds. One thing we do know about the Stephen Harper administration,they allow lies and innuendo to run rampant without defending themselves before the media do their damage.

Guess it’s too bad the Conservative party doesn’t have the union members to pay their legal bills, like Pat Martin NDP. Too bad the Conservative party didn’t have all the money Ken Dryden got and never paid back yet. Would that be okay with the maggot media?

Sandy: “I sent a reply Tweet to Paul Wells asking him why he wasn’t complaining about Fontana or the Ontario Liberals and he wrote a sarcastic tweet back saying they didn’t represent the Gov’t of Canada”.

I looked at NP site for any mention of Joe Fontana and found nothing current, but they did have a story on Doug Ford, who is a Toronto councilor? Some news in the regional papers but that is all.
Toronto media standards of what constitutes a “national story” seem pretty elastic to me.

Incredible as it may seem, BC Blue points out that the CTV story on Fontana’s court appearance, refers to him as a former “federal cabinet minister”.
Gee, I wonder in which government that might have been.

I can’t speak for Liz. But, IMO the reason is because the media seldom mention Fontana was a former Liberal Chretien Gov’t Cabinet Minister. By omitting the Liberal and Chretien’s descriptors, they likely hope the readers will assume he was a Conservative. Lying by omission.

Understood.
The joke then is on the media twits because anyone in the London area knows only too well that Fontana is a Liberal.
That he’s remained seemingly unscathed hasn’t been forgotten by those who depend on London and area media for their news.

People calling for a public inquiry should recall the farce that was the Adscam Inquiry. It cost us a mint and we never saw a penny of the money Chretien tossed to the wind to buy Quebec votes.
Actually he was the star of the show when he came in with his brief case full of golf balls. He made a mockery of the whole thing including the Judge.

Yah, they want a public inquiry before the RCMP investigations are finished, but think it is unfair to suspend Senators before the RCMP are finished.
PM Harper and Nigel Wright are not being investigated, and that just doesn’t suit their agenda.

Perhaps it’s time for the PM and his government to follow-through on the promise of reforming the Senate in a very big way?
Listening to Lorrie Goldstein just now on SNN suggesting that it is because the PM and his government came in to the office of PM and government promising to fix the Senate, that this is going so badly now because it proves the the PM and government haven’t done that.
Good point.
However, Lorrie also pointed out that the PM has two years to do something about that.
Perhaps now, mid-way through his current mandate would be a most opportune time to put the future of the Senate in the hands of the people of this country?

Something else Lorrie alluded to was a just released poll out this morning showing a huge majority of Canadians don’t believe that the PM never knew about the $90K cheque. What’s worse is that the numbers in Alberta were bad for the PM and party brand in particular.

Lorrie’s hardly a Harper-hater, but he did run a very good column last Thursday raising the fact that no side is coming out of this totally believable in the eyes of the public.

The media in AB are the same media you are tortured with out East. 15 second sound bites pounding in the ears of those driving their cars or sitting down for dinner are simply the parroted nonsense that they cut and paste for the news rooms throughout this country.

I love these surveys tho because I never get them nor do any of the people I know. (sarc off) Interesting who gets them and who believe them….quotes them…repeat them…

I think we have seen this movie before.
Nothing that a Liberal does is illegal.
If it is on the CBC it must be true.
This has been going on for how many years now?
Most of us have been on here since 2006, sharing information and trying to get the truth outthere.
So the three Senators have not done the right thing, even thought their expenses were being approved all along.
We have seen this before, a Liberal MP sold her condo to her kids and then was paying them “Rent”
I don’t recall Pete Mandsbridge soiling his panties on air about that.

The monies were paid back.
Why is this still a story?
Other than MM desperately trying to pave the road to the PM’s office with rose petals for wee Justin.
I remember Chretain tossing around his golf balls with the presidential seal on them.
The MM were on them like a pack of trained seals.
Mr Duffy lit a fuse alright, he was still holding the stick of dynamite when it went off.
JMO
Take a deep breath, this is just more of the same crap we have been inflicted with for the last seven years.

Most of the allegations involve abuse of housing allowances, and commentators point out it is morally deficient to charge expenses on a home you do not live in.
Fair enough, how about a married couple charging the maximum housing expense for the same dwelling? Housing expenses were never broken out of Olivia Chow’s expenses, but she and Jack Layton billed $42,478 for a property renting for $2000 monthly, $17,000 for her and $25,468 for him. All this part of an astonishing total expense bill of $3000 per month for this couple. This is from a TorStar article, but I don’t remember this being more than a 1 day story.
Point being, there is only 1 taxpayer and whether expenses are for either house, they come from the same pocket. Media showed a great reluctance to follow up on this story.

Let’s call it Braduffwallgate, Americanize it with “gate” so our neighbours to the South will recognize it as a scandal. That is if they pay any attention to us at all given the mess their POTUS has them in.
Actually if they do pay attention they probably wish they such a good government that this sort of nonsense would be their prime concern.

Thanks Anne in swON
PM Harper could have handled all this differently , just by taking a page from former Liberal Leaders.
Well of course we will welcome Senator Duffy back!
The approach taken by the current Liberal leader.
Call an Judicial enquiry, show up and throw around a few souveniers, hilarity erupts when MM have cat-fight over cupie dolls and fake noses.
Frrom mean Jean who knew how to handle a “protester” hence the “hippy-dippy” shake.
The only scandal here folks is the MM , JMO
Perhaps the PM should have showed up at the Tee-Pee-on-the Rideau gazed into Theresas eyes pronounced himself inspired and bought Attawapiskats Princess into the CPC with a big bucket of KFC.
Just sayin’
Worked for the pretty boy, even though he beat up Brtazeau.

Re: the PM’s unfulfilled promise to reform the Senate. I disagree he has done little if anything to fulfill that promise. Please allow me to repeat what I wrote here & elsewhere at various times when that issue was brought up.

Notice that of the 6 bills listed, only the last one was introduced after the Conservatives got their majority.

Given the opposition by various groups to the bills listed above, especially during two minority governments when the Liberals held a majority in the Senate, and subsequently the opposition to proposed reforms by two major provinces (Ontario & Quebec), as well as some senators appointed on the understanding they supported reform & then reneged, in addition to objections raised by various “constitutional experts” and even the Canadian Bar Association, the Harper Government finally referred the issue to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of various Senate reform measures, including its abolition.

Those are the reasons why the Senate has not yet been reformed, NOT because of the PM’s inaction. And that is also why the issue of abolition cannot be put to a referendum at ths time. There are constitutional issues involved in abolition as well as in reform. Until the Supreme Court gives its advice, the government cannot arbitrarily hold a referendum.

P.S.: I’m not trying to raise anyone’s hackles. I’m simply trying to remind readers the issue of Senate reform is not as simple as we’d like it to be.

Perhaps this is another case of how the communications gurus at the PMO and CPC might have focused their efforts in promoting just the steps Gabby has written about above? It’s what they get paid to do for Pete’s sake.

We’re always playing defense when, for all intent and purpose we (meaning the PM and CPC) have what it takes to taken the offensive.

Let’s recap.
The media and Opps want us to believe Duffy is telling the truth,
and our PM lied about knowing anything before May 15 news bombshell.
That means:
1) Nigel Wright lied to the RCMP in his submission, when he stated PM Harper was not told about the bail out cheque before or after it was given to Duffy’s lawyers.
Do you think Nigel Wright lied to police?
2) 4 lawyers were involved in bribery/criminal acts (you pick the charge),
running bribe cheques thru their own trust accounts and leaving documentation from one end of Ottawa to the other.
Do you think 4 lawyers, from both sides, would put their name to something illegal or even questionable , and leave a paper trail a mile wide (as Anne put it) ?

The media/Opps/’victim Senators’ have done a good job of blurring the lines.
-The Wright-Duffy cheque was months prior to Libs calling in RCMP,
there was no hint the expenses were fraudulent, just that the Senate rules were tightened up.
-And only Lib Sen Mac Harb has been charged by RCMP, so far.
-PM Harper and Nigel Wright are not under investigation, the Senators are because the Senate committees disallowed the expenses, for drama’s sake the Liberals called in the RCMP
-Not one person in this 5 1/2 month old ordeal has come forward with info/evidence PM Harper knew about the chq before May 15, as he has said repeatedly, and Wright swore in RCMP statement.

“Do you think 4 lawyers, from both sides, would put their name to something illegal or even questionable , and leave a paper trail…?” As Sandy would say, that’s the crux of the matter. This whole mess just goes to show how difficult it can be to do the right thing.

And there was NDP Charlie Angus on “SUN NEWS”. He was his usual holier then thou self. Blasting PM Harper. This is the guy who gave Theresa Spence warm socks and a candle after her audit came out of the un – accounted for spending. How come we haven’t heard from Paul Martin? I thought he would be coming out telling us what “great Canadians” the senators are, like he did with Theresa Spence. Such double standards.

Did he use his RCB line of credit to run thru the $90k he got from Nigel?
And isn’t a $13k fee a lot to charge for writing up a ‘cover my butt’ document?
Did that also cover Duffy’s legal council during the audit? Which at the time was legit use of party funds.

I was wrong, Wright has been drawn into the investigation.. sorry.
But what I also found is police case/production orders on Duffy.
Police say his evidence shows Duffy was ‘reimbursed’ the $90k with bank draft dated March 25 (Duffy said he never saw Nigel’s chq but saw the $13k chq from Hamilton),
and Nicole Proulx reports to police that she processed a cheque ‘from Duffy’, with his PEI address in the address portion, made out to the Rec Gen for $90,172.24. RCMP have copy of Duffy chq. (date on chq??)
Duffy told Global news 3 weeks later, in April that he would decide if he would pay the expenses back when outside audit was done. yet he already had paid the expenses back, with his own cheque. ( as Gabby pointed out above)
So Duffy did get an RBC loan and Wright reimbursed him?
Or Duffy wrote a chq the same day he deposited Wrights bank draft?
One thing for sure, he saw Nigel’s money, maybe not the actual bank draft sent to his lawyer, but it went into his bank acct and paid out to Rec Gen.

Duffy was still in the Conservative caucus when he would have had legal help so for the party to assist him with that expense would be in my eyes, a normal expectation. There wasn’t an RCMP investigation at that point.

I heard a clip in which Harper himself didn’t think one cent should have used by the party to pay Duffy’s legal fees.
If Harper’s not ok with it why is the party?
What’d I miss while I was living my life this afternoon?

Tom Mulcair is obsessed with the whole matter, he cares about nothing else if you can go by his QP ad nauseum questioning of the PM.
It’s like he’s counting on this to land him in 24 Sussex after the next election.

So now he hasn’t paid back the money.
Which changes your recap a bit which if we follow the back and forth of Duffy’s changing his mind on whether he did or didn’t pay back anything.
Pretty straight forward by Harper.

Police docs say Nigel reimbursed Duffy, which is the same thing. It’s really murky waters around the details, but we should rely on the police records not what Duffy says. The end result is that Duffy used Nigel’s money to pay the expenses back, not his own.

interesting question for Goodale, will CPC lawyer Hamilton sue Duffy’s lawyer for misrepresentation (re: fraudulent expenses)?
Wondering if Nigel Wright can sue Duffy for his $90k for the same reason??

I can’t believe the new polls out tonight. Do people really want Justin as PM. It would be like all the people voting for Obama and now wondering what they have. He is not near prime minister material, if he ever will be.

Just like polls said Dion and Ignatieff would be next PM.
Well, Dion was turfed as leader and Iggy (and Duceppe) lost their seats in 2011.
Polls are suspect 2 weeks before an election, let alone 2 years out.

Robert Fife chuckling that Mike Duffy is going to make his last scorched earth speech just before Stephen Harper speaks Friday evening at the convention.
Me thinks the media party is working with the liberal Senate to maximize damage to the Prime Minister.

The Senate will be sitting Friday night?
Otherwise he will have to say what ever he has to say without immunity.
Or maybe another selective document dump…By now PMSH has seen every piece of paper and is aware of who did/said what.
The element of surprise has faded.

It will be interesting to compare and contrast the “live” coverage the convention gets with that which was given to Libs’ at Maple Leaf Gardens this past Jan. At that time, the gas plant scandal was not a feature narrative, in spite of the fact that the only reason there was a convention was because of McGuinty’s resignation as a result of the scandal.

I suspect there will be little coverage of what’s actually being talked about on the convention floor, replaced instead by talk of scandal. They will take their current news programming on the senate — what they’ve done so far — and simply take it on the road, making sure that narrative is primary in what Canadians are given when we tune in.

According to Paul Callandra on P&P the $13 thousand cheque had nothing to do with any ‘cover-up’ or a scheme as the media and the opps. have been clamouring. It was to cover the cost to Duffy of the Deloitte audit which had already been completed. I’m waiting for that information to be broadcast. Crickets?

You’re not the only one to miss it, wilson. I’m betting the consensus media will deliberately choose to ignore that information. Conservatives need to shout it from the rooftops in every interview they do. They also need to point out that the cheque from Hamilton occurred some weeks before Wright’s cheque and there is no linkage. One paid for the audit and the second paid for Duffy’s debt to taxpayers. Two entirely separate transactions.

Adscam used the Dept of Public Works to launder millions of stolen taxpayer money and stuff it back in LPC and Liberal pockets. 12 Liberal candidates took this laundered cash to help them win their seats.
Do they really want to go there and give us an opening for reminding Canadians of the details?

Based on the facts posted here, I’d predict that this will not end well for Mr Duffy.

His noise has been undignified, his arguments contradicted and when the Liberal media hates you one day and love you the next that’s not a good thing because they are rarely right and never factual with the truths.

Mulcair is enjoying this opportunity to grandstand in the HOC, he’s gone hairy-scary. For those who do not watch the monkey business called QP the Maggots will give it full coverage on TV and in print.
All of them, the opposition, the media hacks really care more about the opportunity this gives them to pound Harper.

At this point Duffy has reduced himself to a blowbag with an agenda, beyond just defending himself he’s out to take down anyone he can in the Conservative party even the PM.

The media maggots creating their national noise could be their undoing though.
If this unelected body disgusts the entire nation (and I predict further audits will) the reform of the Senate will gain traction, nationally.

There is just something so trashy about what happens to some individuals who start living large on public funds and in the ego building moment of ‘lights, camera, action’.

Many, many retain their humility and purpose without due credit, our PM as an example but others ride the magic ego carpet, higher and higher.

Duffy was known to have wanted a Senate appointment so it’s a good bet he would have accepted it from any PM. He got it, lost all his former pals in the media world, they treated him like a pariah largely because it was a Conservative appointment and some jealousy tossed in.

He started off doing good work for the party and something went awry and needed to be dealt with. The blame game never works, he will find that out shortly if he hasn’t already. A bit of humility and good will goes a long way in a case like this, you admit your errors and vow to fix them.

I’m reminded of Paul Martin who coveted the PM job for decades and worked against his nemesis Chretien to oust him and sit on the throne. He got to the throne and had no idea what to do, he was an abject failure and his actions, along with Chretien’s took down the once natural governing party.

Now maybe Duffy and his large mouth will inadvertently contribute to
what PM Harper wants to do, reform the Senate, get co-operation from the provinces to elect senators, it’s the simplest solution and would end any chance of party politics being played out in that place.

Meanwhile back in Ontario Liberal land…it’s on the table to cut “Cataract surgery” that most seniors will have to deal with eventually, but a sex change is “FREE”. Guess they need to find money for the gas plant fraud using the eye sight of seniors.

Talk about cockeyed logic coming from this failed Liberal government of Ontario. Now they’re going after seniors adding stress to their lives when they least need it.

Apparently they’ll cover sex change and in-vitro procedures but let the people who worked and paid taxes for decades can go blind. Nice stuff Andrea Horwath, thanks a lot for supporting this abomination and allowing it to go on.

Imagine how dangerous that would be for someone with diabetes trying to fill an insulin syringe several times a day. The CEO of a hospital in Windsor takes exception to these cuts in a guest column. http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/10/20/258196/

In another column Health Minister Deb Matthews explained, “The bottom line is people in Windsor are getting their cataracts done at way below the target (of 182 days) and way below the provincial average (of 148 days.)” Imagine that! Oh, the irony of it all! She’s telling people in the Windsor area their wait times aren’t long enough and it’s not fair for others whose wait times are longer! http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/10/18/date-for-cataract-surgery-set-then-cancelled/

This should be the last straw for any thinking, caring person living in this province.

The McGuinty wrecking ball government got to this mess stubbornly adhering to a lost cause that is called green energy. We have gained nothing but higher and higher energy bills and now they’re going after our basic health care needs to help them keep their snouts above water in their sinking ship.

So many seniors like the independence that comes with being able to drive when healthy and fit, eyesight is key to them being able to continue to drive. Cataract removal is a necessity, not a cosmetic procedure.

We can either go after our MPP’s to put these incompetent sorry excuses for managers of this province OUT or go down with their ship, we’re almost there.

BTW if your blood pressure is under control read the ottawa Citizen editorial”Stephen Harper’s walk in the snow”. It’s the purest example of the media hacks at their worst. It’s the dirtiest pack of crap I’ve ever read on this subject.